My invention pertains generally to the design of baby grand and upright toy pianos, more particularly to toy pianos utilizing tines in sound production. Even more specifically, my invention deals with improvements to the mounting of tines on sound boards and other improvements to toy pianos that act to multiply and improve the quality of sound produced.
The essential parts of a toy piano are the same in both the baby grand and the upright version of the toy piano. Overall the piano has a predetermined shape created by joining a plurality of planar side forming members including a bottom member and a plurality of side members, which side members include a back side member, a front side member, and lateral side members. The lateral side members are generally secured to the bottom side of the piano. The two lateral side members, a back side member and a front side member form an enclosure around the interior components of the piano.
Fixed within the interior of the enclosure that is formed will, in most toy pianos, be a sound board that assists in producing musical tones when the toy piano is played. A plate or protective covering may be placed above the sound board to protect the sound board. Over the top of the protective plate will be the top member which forms the top surface of the piano/enclosure. The top member will mate with the lateral side members, back side member and front side member of the piano to complete the enclosure that houses the sound board. These sides will be constructed from pre-sized pieces to fit a variety of pianos that will be connected by a connector of some type.
On the front of the piano will be a set of keys, both white and black, by which the toy piano can be played. Toy pianos are generally smaller than a typical piano and usually have around eighteen to forty-nine keys although there are some variations. A front member that forms part of the enclosure that houses the sound board will be placed perpendicular to the keys and will usually be connected to the bottom surface of the piano.
Generally speaking, a sound board is the surface of a stringed instrument adjacent to the strings. The strings vibrate against the soundboard, usually via some sort of bridge support which acts as a conductor for the vibrations produced by the string. The resonant properties of the sound board serve to greatly increase the volume of the tone produced by the vibrations of the string. In short, the sound board (being connected to the string via the bridge) is forced to vibrate at the same frequency as the string, producing the same sound as the string alone, but differing in timbre. Due to the greater surface area of the sound board, it is able to more readily transform the vibrations of the string into sound as it is in contact with (and vibrates) a larger volume of air, thereby producing a louder sound.
In a piano, the sound board is usually a large horizontal plate at the bottom of the case. In an upright piano, the sound board is a large vertical plate at the back of the instrument. However, rather than strings being struck by a hammer actuated by a piano key, toy pianos—as originally and classically produced—use metal plates or tines. In most modem toy pianos, these are connected to a soundboard. The tines act like chimes, producing a musical tone when struck by the hammer. However, as the toy piano, the tines producing its musical tones, and its sound, board are far smaller than equivalent parts on a real piano, sound production of adequate volume and quality remains a distinct problem. In addition, the usual mode of mounting the tines to the sound board of a toy piano act to dampen and/or even eliminate vibration of its adjacent sound board (when one is present). Finally, neither pianos nor toy pianos have sought to incorporate a sound box to further increase resonance and thereby multiply and improve the quality of sound produced. (A sound box is a chamber with an opening or openings in the body of a musical instrument that is adapted to modify the sound of the instrument, adding resonance and reinforcing sound quality, particularly at lower frequencies).
Thus, my invention comprehends not only innovations in the mounting of the tines in a toy piano so as to facilitate and enhance the function of a toy piano sound board, but the introduction and use of sound boxes in toy pianos, to further assist in enhancing and improving the quality of sound produced. In these regards, I introduce a sound plate extending beyond the normal edges of the sound bar in which the longitudinal tines of the toy piano are mounted so as to lie adjacent to the sound board over a larger area as well as introducing a dedicated sound box for the improvement of the quality, tone and volume of sound produced. The sound box should, ideally, be shaped so as to be somewhat wider (measured in the longitudinal direction of the tines) towards the end where the tines are longest (and produced lower tones) and somewhat narrower towards the end where the shorter tines (producing higher tones) are located. However, this is a very general observation. More particularly, I have discovered that, in general, a multi-curved shape opposite the side where the tines are mounted—somewhat like that of one half of a guitar or ukulele (i.e., two convex curves with an intermediate concave curve)—provides the best and most resonant sound quality. These and other preferred features of my invention will be discussed in more detail below.